Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 3/25/19: Stampede Blue's Zach Hicks on best prospect fits for the Colts in 2019 Draft

Episode Date: March 25, 2019

On today's episode of Locked On Colts, Zach Hicks of Stampede Blue stops by to dish out his thoughts on countless prospects who check multiple boxes from the Colts' point of view. You won't want to miss this one, because we went in-depth on plenty of the top names who fit best in Indianapolis: Ed Oliver, Christian Wilkins, Jeffery Simmons, Jerry Tillery, N'Keal Harry, Parris Campbell, Andy Isabella, Terry McLaurin, and Taylor Rapp.Also, we go over today's news of Florida State EDGE rusher Brian Burns reportedly meeting with the Colts multiple times. Could the Colts be in a position to trade up?The announcement of joint practices during training camp between the Colts and Cleveland Browns happened today, too. That should provide plenty of fireworks in Westfield, Indiana in August, to say the least. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello and welcome to Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today's episode is with Evan Sutter. I'm joined by a special co-host today, Zach Hicks over at Stampede Blue. I love his content. He does a lot of cool draft stuff. Also was at the Senior Bowl as well. We're going to hit on mostly draft cards today for you guys, but we're going to first start off with getting Zach's initial thoughts on how free NC has gone. Zach, how are you doing today? Pretty good, man. Thanks for having me on today. Yeah, no problem at all.

I'm excited to get this podcast back started up here, and I'm excited to get you on here, Zach. So we'll first get going here with free agency and just your initial thoughts so far with what the Indianapolis Colts have done. They've been really patient, which I like. It's really smart what they're doing as far as bargain bin signings, and they're really making a good bargain bin signings. They're really making a good way of doing it so far because you got Justin Houston on a two-year $24 million deal and you got Devin Funchess on a one-year $10 million deal. What do you like

about those moves so far outside re-signing all those other guys? Yeah, starting with the two moves they made with Justin Houston and Devin Funchess, I actually really like both the deals, especially because they're short-term deals. You know, Funches got a one-year deal. Houston got a two-year deal. I really like the length there because Ballard knows he's going to have to keep this young core intact. So throwing all your money at a guy like Preston Smith for like six years

or Z'Darrius Smith for six years, in his mind, just wasn't worth it because, you know, he doesn't want to be tied up to a guy who may not pan out by the time guys like Quentin Nelson and Darius Leonard are due up. But just going to the talent of those two players, Justin Houston, he's not what he used to be. He's not the 22-sack guy that he used to be, but he's still a really good player. High-end player, got over nine sacks the last two years, and two years, $24 million is a really good deal for him. And then Funchess is a young, former first-round pick guy, and he brings it from a route running standpoint, from a size standpoint, even his catchability in traffic

is pretty good. He just hasn't really panned out so far because of the concentration drops and stuff like that. But I think he's a very low-risk guy. One-year deal, so if he doesn't work out, he would just move on. So I really like both the deals so far, and I like that he hasn't overpaid for guys over like six years because if they don't pan out, you're stuck with them. And I think that's the biggest thing that Ballard's been looking at. So short-term deals for two talented guys that help your team win now,

I think he's knocked free agency out of the park. I totally agree with you there. And when you see the Landon Collins deal, I'm really glad that they didn't pull a trigger on something like that because I think that would have crippled your cap later on trying to keep some of your key young guys you have on the roster right now. But looking ahead just really quickly to some other moves, like re-signing Clayton Gathers, Mark Lewinsky, Pierre Desir, Marcus Hunt,

countless other guys as well. What do you think about the moves that Chris Fowler has made moves like re-signing Clayton Gathers, Mark Lewinsky, Pierre Desir, Marcus Hunt, countless other guys as well. What do you think about the moves that Chris Ballard's made and really buying in and really setting the tempo as far as the culture goes on keeping his word and paying all the guys that really do good work here in Indianapolis? Yeah, I mean, that's the biggest thing right there. It's just the culture. I mean, think about it. When guys, again, like Quinton Nelson, Darius Leonard, all these guys are coming up in a couple of years, or Ryan Kelly even next year, they're going to think of that. They're going to see that. They're going to see that, hey, Ballard rewards his own guys. So maybe they will be less likely to test the free agent waters,

or even if they do test the free agent waters, they'll be more likely to come back because they know that in this locker room, in this culture, Ballard rewards his own guys. And he's done that this whole offseason. All those guys deserve contracts. They all deserve the deals they got. And Ballard made sure they all got their share and their pay. So I think a lot of these younger guys that are looking at it, you know, they won't feel slighted. They won't feel like, oh, management's not going to reward us for good play

because, you know, Ballard has shown that's what he's going to do. If you come in and you have a career season, we're going to reward you and we're going to keep you around. And I think that's just a great message to send to a young locker room. Yeah, absolutely. And looking ahead, it's going to be really exciting as far as those next contracts go for a Darius Leonard, a Quentin Nelson, a Brayden Smith, for example. Because those guys might be setting their own markets here pretty soon. But I'd be remiss not to ask you really quickly, going back to free agency just the Justin Houston angle and Adam Schefter tweet us out a few minutes I believe after the Justin Houston report about them having interest in Dee Ford and they eventually passed on because they want to get up on their draft capital but just playing hypothetically here Zach assuming

it's probably a 2019 third round pick there the Chiefs were wanting or a 2020 second round pick which the 49ers gave up would you have have done something like that for AD Ford, or do you like them going Houston? Because I prefer the Houston route, but what's your thoughts? Yeah, I mean, it's tough to how you evaluate guys like that because Ford is a lot younger. You'd have to give draft capital, though, for him. But you'd have to commit long-term for him.

He's a younger player, probably more upside. But I think, again, the big thing with Ballard is committing long-term. You don't want to commit long-term to a guy who, you know, you don't know how he's going to fit in the locker room. You don't know how he's going to play on the field for your team. So it's really hard for a guy like Ballard, for instance, to really commit to a free agent long-term, whereas his own guys, he can commit long-term. Or free agents on the street, he can commit short-term. I personally just like the value better. I don't think Houston is that far off from a guy like Dee Ford currently. And to get him for less years, less money, and not giving him a draft pick,

I think Houston was the better angle for them to go. Yeah, I agree with you there. And two years, $24 million, and that's really going to be nothing. And when you look at about a couple years down the line, it would not affect the cap at all. really quickly Zach I want to get your thoughts as well on the free agency portion of things 60 plus million still in cap space left for the Colts imagine they're going to roll most of that over to next year a lot of key guys are up for extension next year do you think that's what most of this money is being saved for for guys like Eric Ebron

Anthony Costanzo Kenny Moore for example for example? Yeah, no, certainly. I think that's exactly what it is. I think a lot of that's going to be for keeping his own in-house guys. And, you know, again, next year he's going to do the same thing that he's been doing. We look for those one or two year, you know, how people say bargaining bin deals. So he's going to be looking for those guys next year as well. But I think a lot of it is, you know, you've got guys like Kenny Moore had a career season this year. He's up for an extension next year. Ryan kenny moore had a career season this year he's up for an extension next year ryan kelly again had a career season this year he's up for an extension next year eric ebron career season uh so all these trends you know these guys keep

building off what they put together last year you're going to need all that money to sign them you know kenny moore elevates his play from last year where he was a near pro bowl level you're going to need to pay him top dollar if if ryan Ryan Kelly elevates his play, he's going to be, you know, pro center. So you're going to need to really pay him a lot to keep him around. So Ballard's smart. He knows what he's doing. He knows that, Hey, these guys are, if they keep growing and keep getting better, we're going to need all this money to pay all them. So rather than throwing it all at guys like, again, like Preston Smith,

Zedaria Smith, who are solid players, but probably not worth the dollar amount they got. Save it for your in-house guys if they keep developing and they become pro bowlers. You're keeping a pro bowl core of guys with all that money you have. Yeah, I'm right there with you. And it's going to be definitely exciting to see what happens next as far as that goes with free and see next year and keeping all these guys moving forward. But there is some news today with the Colts.

Not anything urgent or anything along those lines, but we saw a report here from ESPN and also Mary K. Cabot of Cleveland.com mentioned the Cleveland Browns will be having a joint practice in Westfield, Indiana with the Indianapolis Colts. What were your thoughts on that? Because that might be two of the top three best teams in the AFC next year, and iron sharpens iron, so to say. Good friends of John Dorsey and Chris Ballard.

So not really surprising, but it's going to be exciting to see those guys up close. Oh, man, it's going to be so fun. A lot of personalities on the field, too, because, you know, we saw a lot of Darius Leonard's stuff, you know, on YouTube and stuff, how crazy he is on the field. You know, Baker Mayfield is one of the best personalities in the game as well, and Odell Beckham Jr. It's going to be really fun practices, and it's going to be really probably a sight to see out there especially again like you said Ballard and Dorsey know each other

good friends they worked with each other for a long time so they got all that dynamic too but just overall again like you said iron sharpens iron and these are two good young teams that could be competing with each other for a while the way they're going so getting them out there on the same practice field can only be beneficial to both teams. I'm going to throw a question at you here, Zach, and you can go as long as you want with your answer here. Because for my personal opinion, I think with so much young talent on this roster, I think this could be the year with how much draft capital they have. If they want to trade Jacoby Persett, it's even more draft capital.

I don't think they will do that. But they still have the jet-set around pick they got in the Quentin Nelson trade. I think if the price is right for moving up for a guy like a Christian Wilkins or an Ed Oliver or someone along those lines, a playmaker or a corner, whoever Chris Bauer really hones in on, I think this could be the year to do it because they're going to have so much draft capital to work with, and you already have so much young talent from the 2018 draft class. You have five or six contributors from that draft class,

not even including Deion Kane yet. Do you think the possibility is there that Chris Ballard might move up in this year's draft to, let's say, from 26 to the 15 to 20 range, maybe even higher than that? Yeah. Yeah, certainly. Certainly. I think, you know, the overall thing with Ballard is he loves his draft picks, but, you know, that doesn't limit him in any way.

He's not going to go into a draft saying, like, get me as many draft picks as possible. He's going to get the best player. know if he thinks for instance because I know a lot of people are talking about him falling like Ed Oliver is the top five player in this draft if he really believes that with everything in his core and from what I've seen with the Colts he really fits everything that they want you know if he thinks that Oliver is a top five player in this draft and he's sitting there around you know pick 16 pick 17 I don't doubt that he would pull the trigger to move up for him Ballard's I don't think Ballard's a guy who's going to just sit back and and let things fall for him you know he's going to take the guys that he

wants or you know last year he wanted Quinton Nelson and he knew that he could get extra picks so he moved back and he got his guy you know I think he's going to move up for these guys I believe he traded up last year too I these guys. I believe he traded up last year, too. I might be mistaken. I believe he traded up for someone last year. Maybe traded back out of it. But, you know, he's going to make some draft day trades. He's going to get guys he wants. And, you know, if a guy like, again, like Ed Oliver is falling into, like, the mid-to-late first round, I wouldn't put it past him at all to trade up there.

Yeah, they traded back to get Kamoko to red, and they traded back to get Tyrone Lewis in the second round. That's what happened there. But I wanted to dive in here just on some prospects now because I saw some tweets today from John Leder of thedraftnetwork.com and he had a report saying Brian Burns has met with the Colts twice and multiple, according to him, it was multiple three-hour dinners. So that's a lot of time with a prospect. I know maybe just being reported and probably doing it with others, but Brian Burns is a guy who I think is in the top 10 to top 20 range,

and he's not going to be there at 26. So maybe even more credence to the notion that maybe he's thinking about trading up here. What's your initial thoughts on Brian Burns and also that report from Ledyard? Yeah, so, you know, starting with Ledyard, I think he's great at everything he does, so I don't, you know, doubt what he's saying at all.

But, you know, it's that time of year where, you know, teams are meeting with everybody, especially after pro days. You know, they're meeting with them for dinners and lunches. I mean, I've talked to a ton of players this year with my prospect interviews where they tell me that, you know, they had dinner with one team and they flew to somewhere else and had dinner with another team. So it's just that time of year where teams are getting all the info they can on players uh but when in regards to brian burns i mean he's a great player you know for for a 6'5 250 pound guy that's what he came in at the combine uh to bend the way he does and move the way he does i mean he went through those drills like a defensive back uh so i mean to move the way he does and bend the corner and rush the passer like him i mean it's a rare trait and you know he's probably not

going to be there at 26. But, you know, again, the Colts are doing their homework, you know, and all the players they can. So if a guy like Burns, say, slips like the mid-first round, they really fall in love with him in the offseason, they have enough info on the guy to say, okay, that's our guy. We're going to go up and get him. You know, so, you know, no rock unturned,

and that's what they're going to do this whole offseason. We're going to run through some prospects here, Zach. I got a list here that I'm interested in your thoughts about. I know you guys have the Stampede Blue draft guide coming out soon before the draft, which is a month away, which is pretty exciting. I'm really looking forward to the draft, which is how much Chris Ballard has already proven to me that he's an excellent GM as far as the draft goes with how last year went.

But first, our prospect here, we'll just start off here. We already talked about him once, and we'll just dive back in and dip our toes here for a few minutes, Ed Oliver. What do you think about him as far as a fit and a prospect in Indianapolis? Because I know you already mentioned that he kind of fits everything that Chris Ballard wants.

Yeah, no, he fits this defense perfectly. You know, just from a size and speed standpoint, there's no player that's going to match him. He's insanely quick, insanely explosive, can run like a defensive back out there, and he's a defensive tackle. And the best thing that really fits the Colts system is that he's at his best when he's in more of a fly forward, penetrate the line type of role. So at Houston, they had him playing more nose tackle. He had to take on blocks.

That's not really his game. He can come into the Colts. He can be like that Marcus Hunt guy where it's like, hey, you're an insane athlete. Just shoot up the ball and create disruption. And I think that he can do that role, you know, perfectly. I think that's the best role for him in the NFL. So if he falls again, I would love to see Ballard trade up for him because he's just the perfect fit for this team.

Where do you personally have him as far as your board goes? Yeah, so my board isn't completed yet, but I don't think he's going to be outside my top ten. I mean, just again, his skill set is just insanely rare. You're not going to find that in many players. He's going to be in my top ten probably. Alright, next prospect on the list, we're going to focus this group, but we are defensive linemen list here. And Christian Wilkins of Clemson. I know Mike Farah, defensive line coach for the Annapolis Colts, was there. And I know someone tweeted about Dexter Lawrence.

We'll hit on him in a few minutes. But I personally think that he doesn't really make a lot of sense here in Annapolis. But Christian Wilkins, his teammate, who gets a lot more pub than Lawrence, I think makes perfect sense in Annapolis and kind of checks the box from a culture standpoint too. I don't know if he'll be there at 26. He might be a guy who Ballard falls in love with from that culture locker room standpoint. He might maybe move up for a guy like Christian Wilkins. What do you think about him? Yeah, so Wilkins, he kind of hit the nail on the head there. I mean, on and off the field, he fits the Colts perfectly. And

he's kind of the dream scenario. You know, if he falls to 26 or if he falls to maybe take 20, Ballard can move up and get him. But yeah, he's a dream scenario in this draft. If the Colts perfectly. And he's kind of the dream scenario. You know, if he falls to 26 or if he falls to maybe take 20, Ballard can move up and get him. But yeah, he's a dream scenario in this draft. If the Colts can come away with him, I think that's, that's a perfect first round scenario. Just again, he's an insane athlete. He flies out the ball. He creates disruption. He can offer as a pass rusher and a run defender. And then again, off the field, I mean, he is, I mean, I've not heard such a clean prospect before.

You know, just from a community service standpoint, from a leadership standpoint, from everything, Christian Wilkins just embodies everything that Ballard looks for. And I think, you know, on and off the field, just dropping him in this locker room would just be a perfect fit. What's the separation like for you as far as comparing a guy like Christian Wilkins to, like, an elite defensive tackle, like an Ed defensive tackle like an Ed Oliver in this draft class is there going to be much separation for you as far as that goes because I know Wilkins has this more tread on his tires so to say but he's been pretty productive there yeah so it is kind of tough to to evaluate stuff like that mainly because a guy like like

Ed Oliver has the is a super high-end athlete. You know, Wilkins can move really well, too. He's also a great athlete. But Oliver, you can just see if he hits his ceiling, it's going to be like – not like Aaron Donald level, but close to it probably because his ceiling is just that high. Or Wilkins, I don't think his ceiling is that high, but, you know, you've seen him do multiple roles. You know, at Clemson, he played defensive end, defensive tackle.

He moved all over the place. They've been dropping the coverage sometimes. So, you know, he was kind of used all over the place, but when they got him in the right role, he was a really good player. And I think that's just what you're really going to get out of Christian Wilkins. You know, he might not be a superstar, but just a really solid player that knows what he's doing and knows how to disrupt the game of football. And I think, again, just as a role player, maybe as a high-end role player, I think he's going to be a great fit for a team. Yeah, Wilkins is a guy who I think packs so many boxes for the Colts

if he's there at 26, or like you said, in the 20s, maybe Valor moves up a couple spots and gets him. But speaking of a high-ceiling prospect on the defensive line, Jeffrey Simmons, he tore his ACL. The only way he falls to the Colts in this scenario is because of that injury. What do you think about him as a prospect? Obviously, there's some off-the-field concerns with him. That video happened freshman year,

but supposedly he's been fine since and no issues in college. What do you think about Jeffrey Simmons, who probably would have been a top-15 pick if it wasn't for the injury? Yeah, so Simmons, yeah, was probably looking at top-15 pick for the injury and also the off-field issue. I know some teams will probably take him off their board because of that, even though I think that I haven't read too much on the issue, so I'm not going to speak in

absolutes here, but I think it was something like he was defending his sister against someone and pushed some girl. I can't remember exactly what it was, but, you know, he, from all reports, he's turned it around. He's been like a model student, model citizen down there with Mississippi State. But yeah, the injury definitely hurts. A lot of teams don't like taking chances like that because, you know, they're struggling with the recovery or they want to get the immediate impact on their guy coming back. I think the Colts, for instance, are a unique situation that could take a chance on him because I don't think Ballard's trying to build

like a win-now team. I'm not saying he doesn't want to, you know, get to the playoffs, win a Super Bowl now, but understands the the importance of like longevity when it comes to a team so taking a guy like Jeffrey Simmons who knows like a top 10 top 15 talent with your pick 26 or with pick 34 even he knows that if he can get back to his form you have a top 15 or a top 10 talent so Ballard I think will be an interesting choice to like go after a guy like this because he understands the talents there and the longevity for this team is there if you get a talented guy like that I'm glad you brought that point about Ballard because that was actually my next question related to Simmons just it seems

like he's the kind of guy and also just the scheme figure in Indianapolis and what are all the young talent to have on the roster it seems like if a team in the first round is going to take a gamble on a Simmons before he slips to the second round, the Colts kind of do check all those boxes, so to say. Yeah, especially because, again, with how he's built this locker room, he never said he's not going to take chances on character risk guys. I'm not even saying Simmons is a character risk because, again, there's a lot of details about that whole incident that we don't really know. But if they label him as a character risk because, again, there's a lot of details about that whole incident that we don't really know.

But if they label him as a character risk guy, he's built a good enough locker room where you can take a chance or two on guys like that if they're talented enough. You don't want to get a whole locker room of guys like that, but you can take chances on players with his ability and with his longevity and his long-term projection with this locker room, with guys that you already have in the locker room. The final prospect here as far as defensive lineman goes, Zach, I want to end with you is Jerry Tillery, an in-state prospect at Notre Dame.

I think he's from New Jersey, though. What's your thoughts on Tillery? Because he also seems to be such a productive guy, and there's some tape. I know they're standing up for a game. He just dominated that game. So what do you think about him and his fit in Indianapolis? Because if all these guys like Oliver Wilkins and Simmons are off the board, I think maybe Tellery might be BPA for what they're looking for.

Yeah, so he's really a high upside and low floor type guy. You know, there's a way that you could see him flaming out of the NFL in a couple years or also being a top ten defense tackle in football. There's a lot of ways that his career could go, but the talent's all there. You saw the Stanford game. He dominated that game from start to finish. He was tossing guys all over the place. The only big concerns that I heard that I don't know if he's going to fit well with the Colts is apparently he's a pretty dirty player on the field. Apparently, there's some other concerns with him and stuff like that because of the dirty plays on the field or something like that. I think the Draft Network guys have been tweeting about that before.

But there are some concerns around that part of his game. And then also, there's not effort all the time in his game. He'll disappear for lengths of games. And I don't know how the Colts are going to value stuff like that. But again, if they want to go for a high upside guy, a guy who could be top 10 in the NFL to his position, I mean, Tiller has all the talent. If they think that they can coach it out of him, or if they can get him in this locker room and get him motivated even more, I mean, yeah, the sky's the limit with him as a player.

Yeah, Tiller is an interesting case study if he does make it to Indianapolis and see how he pans out in the first couple years under this coaching staff. Let's move on to our next position group, the wide receiver. I know the Colts just signed Devin Funches, but they have I think they're going to have to draft another wide receiver within the first three rounds, in my opinion. We're going to count some early round guys quickly,

but also going to some guys that might go in the second, third, or fourth round here, Zach. First up, here's Nikhil Harry from Arizona State. I actually went to school at Arizona State, so that's why I'm bringing him up here first. But just seeing him up close so many times, just such a dominant prospect, in my opinion. He didn't run the 40 too badly. I think he did pretty well for his size. So do you think he fits if he's there at 34 and the Colter, let's say, took a defensive line in the first round?

I think he really should be a guy that's BPA at 34 and the Colter, let's say, took a defensive line in the first round, I think he really should be a guy that's BPA at 34, in my opinion. Yeah, no, I think he would be a good fit here in Indy, mainly because you've got two guys who do different roles than him. You know, like T.Y. Hilton is your speed burner who can get down the field, and that's not really what Harry's game is. And Funches is more of your underneath route runner type guy, which, again, I don't really think that's Harry's game I think if you get him in they can simplify his role you know be a lot of

you know quick hitters to him like bubble screens and stuff get him with that great yak ability he has yards after catch get him kind of moving the ball in his hand and then when you get down to the red zone you can isolate him and get the ball up to him and I think if you simplify his touches because the biggest issue in his game is really route running and separating, which he doesn't really do consistently. But if you do, if you give him a lot of scheme touches, you know, give him some screen, some quick hitters, and maybe some, you know, isolated balls down by the red zone, I think he's going to be a great player. And you know, they can use them as a big slot even here in Indy. I mean, that would be amazing. Imagine the size on one side, if you have Harry and Pontius on one side,

and then you have a top-10 receiver in football and T.Y. Hilton on the other. It's just a lot of endless possibilities with that, and Harry would be a great fit because I know that Wright can scheme him the ball in ways to make him successful. Yeah, and Nikhil here, I think if he goes to a quarterback like Andrew Luck, the sky's the limit for a guy like him. But let's go to our next crossbar, kind of the opposite of Nikhil Harry, Paris Campbell of Ohio State.

I've seen a lot of rumors and a lot of mock drafts kind of go with Campbell recently, which kind of surprised me. But his stock seems to be really rising lately. And I think he'd be a good fit with what Reich's offense is looking for. So, Paris Campbell, do you like the possibility of him at 26-34 for the Colts' 9th fits here? So, I think that's a little early for me. I'm not super high on Paris Campbell, but I think, you know, if they did take him, it's not going to be a player that I'd be upset about because,

you know, I would feel like they had a plan for him. And I think that's the biggest thing for a guy like Paris Campbell is you have to have a plan for him. You can't just throw him out there and say, hey, you ran 4-3, now you have to be our deep threat because that's not his game. You know, at Ohio State, he only caught two passes down the field past 20 yards. That's not really his game at all. You know, get him those scheme touches. Like I kind of mentioned with Harry, except, you know, not the red zone isolation, but get him scheme touches, get the ball in his hand quickly,

maybe some reverses, you know, stuff like that, a lot of screens and stuff, and just more use him as an offensive weapon more so than a receiver. And, you know, he can light up the league. You know, he could be a lot of what people thought Tavon Austin would be coming into the NFL. And, you know, he has the speed, he has the athleticism, very raw player in terms of being a receiver. But, you know, again, if the Colts took him,

I would fully believe that they had an absolute plan for him. And that's the biggest thing with these guys is if you have a plan for them, you know how you're going to use them, then they can be successful. And the Colts, I feel like that with any player. So if they took a guy like Paris Campbell, I would expect them to maximize his skill set. Really good point there, Zach, about Campbell. And yeah, I think just maximizing a guy like him with his speed and his skill set, I think just maximizing a guy like him with his speed and his skill set, I think Wright could do that perfectly here in Annapolis. But the next guy on the list here who's really intriguing me lately

and a guy who could be there maybe in the fourth round if things break well for them, Andy Isabella out of UMass. He just strikes me as like the Tom Brady, Wes Welker. I feel like he could be like Andrew Lux, Wes Welker, so to say, because he's such a reliable target. I feel like he could be right off the jump, get 60, 70 catches as a rookie here. Oh, yeah, dude. The possibilities of having, you know, Isabella and Hilton on the outside

and you kind of have Funchess working at that big slot, you know, separating underneath, I mean, that would be awesome just because you have the speed on the outside. You know, having that speed is so important in the NFL nowadays. You know, you see teams like the Chiefs, for instance, last year, they had Tyree Kill, and they were like, you know what, we're going to invest money now in Sammy Watkins, another speedster. So, you know, getting that speed in the NFL, though,

just opens up so much for the game. And I think, you know, if they do get a guy like Isabella, drop him on the outside, you can still hit occasional deep shots with him, but it just opens up the game so much for Funches, DeBron, Doyle over the middle, or even, you know, Hilton coming over the middle on some underneath passes. So just getting more speed on the outside opens up the game. And yeah, I mean, he can separate. He's a good player on his own, right? I'm not just using him as a decoy here. But, you know, just having more speed on the field, more guys who can make plays with the ball in their hands, Isabella would be an awesome fit. I think he might go like round two or three.

But again, if they took him, I would feel like they had a plan for him and it would just open up so much more on the offense. Kind of a two-part question here for you, Zach, because our next prospect here is Terry McLaurin. His stock's really rising lately. Went to Cathedral High School in Indiana. He's also went to Ohio State right nearby. Grew up a Colts fan. What do you think about McLaurin's fit? And also comparing him to, like, Isabella, are you higher on Terry McLaurin than you are on Isabella?

Or what do you think about him as far as fitting apples too? Yeah, so I think personally I might have McLaurin higher than Isabella just because from everything down at the Senior Bowl, and this is no slight to Isbell at all. I mean, we're comparing him to a really good receiver in this class. Just, you know, at the Senior Bowl, I thought that McLaurin had crystal routes. I thought he looked more polished. He had more of the nuance down.

And then, again, he looked really good at Ohio State too on film. It kind of matched a lot of what his film was. But, yeah, I mean, I love McLaurin. I think he's just from a – again, he's like the Christian Wilkins of receivers, just, you know, obviously not as skilled. But he's the Christian Wilkins of receivers for the Colts in terms of fit, you know, just from an off-the-field, from a Colts standpoint, and then a skill set standpoint in the field.

I mean, he's a great player, gets down the field, runs some really crisp routes. And I think that would be great for the offense. But off the field, I've heard he's the epitome of leadership. I think he wrote a handwritten letter to Jim Nagy after the Senior Bowl. I might be confusing him with someone else, but I think that was him. Nagy was praising him. Tina's been praising him. Ohio State praises him. I've heard nothing but great reviews about this guy, and then on top of all that, he's from Indy, and he came onto the field when he was like a little kid.

And I just think it's a perfect fit all over the place. And I think McLaurin would just add a lot more dimension to this offense, more of that speed dimension. So, you know, on and off the field, which way I think Terry McLaurin is a perfect fit for this team. One more question here on the wire series before we move on to our last final questions here for you, Zach. Do you think the Colts should go wire receiver early at 26 or 34?

Do you think with how much depth they have now with Devin Funches, if they want to keep him around past next year? Who knows on that, but if they want to keep him around past next year, if all goes well, can you keep a Funches? You also have a Doris Fowl, and who knows what happens with him moving forward, but they also have Chester Rogers. They have some pretty good wide receiver debt they also could bring back don'trell in mintona one year deal if he doesn't sign to the troy lions who he's visiting tomorrow so what do you think about the possibility or the draft strategy as far as why receiver with the colts in this year's draft yeah so i'm not going to just say that you know no matter what they should go receiver first second or even third round. It all depends on the value there.

You know, say the Colts love Hakeem Butler. Say that he's the perfect fit in every way. He can play on the outside. That's great. Hakeem Butler is your perfect guy. I don't mind them taking him, you know, in the first round. I don't mind them taking, you know, even a guy like Parris Campbell in the first round if they feel like he's the perfect fit.

But, you know, it's all according to their draft board. You know, Christian Wilkins there at 26 versus a guy like Akeem Butler. It's however they evaluate those two things. But, you know, if they go first round, second round, third round, I have enough faith in this hierarchy that they're going to make the right decision. So even if they take a guy in, like, the fifth or sixth round, I think they have a good enough plan or a good enough scheme to where they can overcome, say, not having a first-round receiver. But if they want a receiver again, like first round and fourth round or fifth round, they know what they're doing.

So I don't have anything that I'll be upset about because I just feel like they know what they're doing. I don't feel like they have to go receiver now either. But if they go one in the first round, I think, you know, it would just be more weapons to a guy like Andrew Luck. Yeah, I'm right there with you on trusting the binders, so no qualms here on that. And one prospect I want to have with you before we go on to just our final closing questions here, Taylor Rapp of Washington.

I feel like he's kind of the one defensive prospect who's standing out for me recently just because the Clayton Gathers signing was for only one year. I feel like he's going to be on the board there at 26 unless things really break differently. But his stock is kind of rising lately, so we'll see how that goes. But he seems like the perfect replacement for a guy like Clayton Gathers after 2020. And you threw a wrap in there next to Malik Hooker, and you have one of the best inside, outside safety duos, I think think in the league in about three or four years. Yeah. So I don't want to say too much cause I'm working on a,

a film room for him right now for Stampede blue. So, you know, I will have a stand, I will have that film room up tomorrow or I think whenever you release this, it might already be up. But yeah, Taylor Rapp just,

just to kind of quickly hit on him. I mean, he's just a really good football player. Again, just, just consistent, intelligent, reliable, really competitive, too. The best thing that pops out is when I'm watching his film and where you can kind of see him every play, you know,

if things don't go the right way for the defense, you can see how emotional and how invested he is in the game. He's always invested. He's always competitive. Just from all that, I mean, he's just reliable. And I think that's the biggest thing that Colts fans want with a guy next to Malik Hooker is just a reliable player. And that's just what Taylor Rapp is. So all that stuff right there, I mean, I think he'd just be a great fit next to Hooker. Going off the draft here for a second before we end today's show,

Zach, appreciate the time. Just what do you think about just your overall expectations for next season? Because I think everyone was kind of stunned when they saw 10-6 last year. I thought they'd get seven or eight wins just for after Angelo coming back from surgery, having, I thought, just too young of talent at the time. But obviously, Chris Bauer proved us all wrong there. They went on a magical run to the divisional playoffs. What is your expectations now, especially with all that's happened in free agency now for next season in 2019-20?

Yeah, so outlook has to be great. I mean, think about it. They were a 10-win team last year, and they're bringing back 21 of their 22 starters, along with adding Justin Houston and Devin Funchess, and we got nine draft picks coming in. So, you know, anything less of playoffs, I feel like would just be a disappointment at this point because they built on a team that was a playoff team last year. And that's not saying, you know, if they miss the playoffs, it's the end of the world. But, you know, to keep this train going, to keep it going forward, you have to expect playoffs.

And I think that their talent set up to do that. So, you know, just building on what they had last year, kind of, again, keep it rolling. And I think that, you know, I think playoffs are a really real possibility. And, you know, who knows, maybe AFC Championship game, maybe Super Bowl. I mean, they have it all. They have all the talent. They have all the ability to get there. It's just, you know, seeing how Reich and Luck and this young nucleus put it all together. But, again, Outlook has to be great because, you know,

they're building on what was already a 10-win team last year. Yeah, I'm right there with you. This is probably the most excited season I've had since the Peyton Manning era, just with all the expectations and how much trust I have in Chris Bauer leading this organization forward. It's pretty exciting times here for the Annapolis Colts. But before we let you go, Zach, anything you want to plug as far as your own personal work or your Twitter account or anything else you wanted to say

to all the listeners out there as far as your personal work goes? Yeah, certainly. Yeah, if you guys want to check out my stuff, it's on Stampede Blue. I do a lot of draft prospect interviews, you know, draft film rooms, along with,

you know, even free agent film rooms. And after all this free agency and draft stuff is done, I'm going to get into more player film rooms from last season as well. So a lot of content coming on Stampede Blue. If you want to see some more of my draft content over on DraftWire, then if you guys just want to interact with me at all, talk to me. I'm pretty interactive on Twitter, at Zach Hicks, too.

I try to respond to most people, but, you know, it's tough sometimes. But, you know, just hit me up on Twitter if you guys ever have any questions or want to talk football, and I'm definitely glad to. But, yeah, follow myself on Stampede Blue and DraftWire, and follow me on Twitter, at Zach Hicks, too. All righty, folks. That's it for today's show. Zach, appreciate the time,

and maybe we'll have you back on later this offseason. Yeah, awesome, man. I love being on today. Yeah, have me back on one.